Mumbai: Gym trainer who assaulted member may have died by suicide, say police

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The Navghar police have started a manhunt for the body of a gym trainer who the police presume committed suicide after they found his two-wheeler abandoned at Airoli bridge and CCTV footage shows a person jumping off the bridge. On July 17, gym trainer Dharav Naker, 20, had assaulted Yugesh Vilas Shinde with a mudgar (a wooden excercise implement) at the Fitness Intelligence Gym. A video of the incident went viral. His family claims that he has committed suicide as he was frustrated by the events that unfolded after that.

A senior police officer from Navghar police station said, "CCTV footage shows that a man jumped from the bridge on August 5 at around 5.30 pm. We suspect that the body is Narekar's as the two-wheeler abandoned on the bridge was registered in his name. We are currently searching for his body." According to Mahindra Narker, Dharav's father, the gym trainer has been frustrated since July 17. "He would often tell me that his career has been destroyed and that no one would marry him after the incident. He expressed his frustration over the situation and that's why we suspect that he may have taken such an extreme step," the father said.

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According to the father, Dharav was deeply worried about the social media posts. "He said that the video of the assault had gone viral and that there was no way he can restore his career after that," the father said. The father received a call from the police that his son's two-wheeler had been found on Airoli bridge. The family reached the spot and confirmed to the police that the two-wheeler belonged to him. "The police suspect that Dharav had committed suicide as it the two-wheeler belonged to him," the father said. The police have not recovered any suicide note from the two-wheeler.

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